Barbican: A Historical and Artistic Legend of London

A true legend risen from the ashes caused by bombing during the war, from the victim of every disorder across the city, to the largest multi-arts venue in Europe.

With a history almost as old as London itself, the Barbican was first built by the Romans as a new settlement by the river. Walking along the amazing Lakeside Terrace in a beautiful spring day, it is hard to believe that this area used to be the victim of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London.

Most people visit Barbican for the artistic events in Barbican Centre, which is one of my favourite places in London. The idea of the centre was born in the 1960s, an era of renewal after the Second World War and an exciting time for the arts. With its fabulous concert hall, theatres, cinema, gallery, and conference rooms, the Barbican Centre is Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and educational events. It is a legend risen from the ashes caused by bombing during the war.

Novelist and poet Peter Ackroyd wrote, ‘the Barbican has been a neighbourhood of actors and of writers as well as the home of vice, disease and fire. It has been an asylum for refugees and outcasts. It has, in a word, been London.’ The more I know about Barbican, the more I love it!

Take your camera, enjoy a different London, and a wonderful day at Barbican!

In celebration of the mindblowing solar eclipse we had the other day, we ran a competition and asked you to tag your analogue photos centered around our great big yellow friend! Check out the winners now!

In December last year James Wright, editor and creative director of So It Goes Magazine, went on a two-week trip to Sri Lanka, "a place so long on our bucket list, but up until then, as yet unvisited," he writes on the first of his three-part photo diary. Herein is the first of his series that chronicles his adventures, highlighted by a selection of breathtaking images of the Sri Lankan countryside and the locals, among many other images, captured with his trusty photographic companions: the Leica MP, Lomo LC-A+, and an assortment of films including the LomoChrome Purple.

Simeon Smith is a musician who recorded the sounds of our film cameras in action and made these samples available as a free download. We couldn't resist interviewing him about this project and taking a look at some of his photos. Meet the man behind the cams here.

Stephen Shore introduced to the 70s art world an unadorned image of American life. He captured littered restaurant tables as other photographers would immaculate vistas. For the opening of “American Surfaces”, he even taped unframed snapshots on gallery walls. In these videos, Shore talks about objects that have “no pretention to art” and the things he learned from Andy Warhol.

In my early adolescence, I liked to play table football. For my 12th birthday, my parents gifted me with a wonderful Subbuteo table soccer game set that I had wished for many months! This was my favorite toy until I discovered other interesting hobbies, like ham radio and electronics. So after some years, I gave away this game to other kids. I always remembered this game with pleasure and a hint of nostalgia.